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Supporting the knowledge economy in Europe

Brussels/Munich, 30 March 2005 - - Support for Europe’s competitiveness and the innovation process in Europe were the main topics of the first-ever information day of the European Patent Office (EPO) at the European Parliament (EP). At the invitation of the chairman of the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) of the EP, Mr Giles Chichester MEP, the President of the EPO, Mr Alain Pompidou, demonstrated in presentations to Members of the Parliament and the ITRE Committee how European patents contribute to the European economy and what benefits society at large can derive from the European patent system. In his presentations the President of the EPO addressed the following points:

1. The role of the EPO in the innovation process in Europe

With its 6 000 staff and the European Patent Convention (EPC) as its legal basis, the EPO supports with all its activities the innovation process initiated by the institutions of the European Union. Its tasks are to bring legal certainty to the innovation process by granting quality patents, and to acts as catalyst of the innovation process with the help of its information systems.

In granting European patents the EPO manages the workflow from idea to invention, from invention to innovation and from innovation to the market place.

2. What do patents do for society?

Patents are among the most important transmission belts for the transfer of technology. They constitute the largest and most up to date - data base of applied technology. Patents render technology transparent and inform about technical progress. Patents encourage investment into innovative solutions by securing return on investment. In doing so they also support economic growth and employment

3. The EPO supports the aims of the Lisbon strategy

The EPO aims to strengthen its relationship with the EU institutions to achieve the Lisbon objectives. The EPO is concerned by the findings of the Kok-Report, and intends to support all measures that are aimed at strengthening the Lisbon process. The protection of intellectual property is an essential feature of the knowledge economy, as intellectual capital is the key resource for innovators in the future!

A well-sorted patent portfolio increases the competitiveness of European enterprises and contributes to prosperity and economic growth. Patents are a driving force in the transition from the resource-based to the knowledge-driven economy: Between 1996 and 2004, the volume of European patent applications has more than doubled!

To respond to the needs of the knowledge economy the EPO has rendered all 55 million documents in its documentation freely accessible for anyone on the Internet -an enormous asset for innovators and the public alike!

4. In what way do European patents bring legal certainty to the innovation process?

The legal certainty resides in the quality of the European patent which is based on the quality of the patent law: strict criteria of patentability, flexibility (EPC can be amended when new laws are introduced), and also on the quality of the patenting process (European patents are granted on the basis of a rigorous examination procedure carried out by expert scientists and engineers).

Less than two thirds of the number of patent applications filed with the EPO lead to a European patent. Moreover, most patents are reduced in scope prior to grant.

There are legal remedies against European patents at EPO level: opposition and appeals procedures. Both procedures enhance the legal certainty of whether or not a European patent can be granted.

5. EPO's practices on computer-implemented inventions

The EPO has the task to grant patents in all areas of technology. It has to apply the provisions of the European Patent Convention in all cases. Also in dealing with computer-implemented inventions the EPO has to implement the EPC, and the case law developed by the independent judiciary of the EPO.

The EPO grants patents for inventions which are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. To be considered an invention they must have a "technical character".

Computer-implemented inventions are found in nearly all fields of technology, ranging from car technology to medical devices, household apparatuses to information technology and computers. They are of enormous benefit to our everyday life.

Following the EPC, its implementing rules and the guidelines, the EPO does not

• grant patents on pure software
• grant patents on Business methods as they do not involve a technical character;
• even start work on business method patent applications;
• patent algorithms per se.

If the law is changed, or new law introduced by the legal system of the EU, the EPO will adjust its own law accordingly. For instance, when the Directive for patenting biotechnological inventions was adopted by the EU, the EPO was the first organisation to implement the new law in its practice.

As the patent grant authority for Europe, the EPO will always apply Community directives, which should be simple and clear in order to ensure uniform implementation by the EPO’s 3 500 patent examiners.

Background on the EPO

The EPO was founded 1977 in the same spirit as the European Communities, and more or less by the same group of states.

Following the acquis communautaire, EU membership candidates have to apply for membership in the European Patent Organisation.

Today the EPO counts 30 member states who have all ratified the EPC in parliament. Practically all EU members are also represented in the EPO. The states are united in the EPO's Administrative Council which is the supervisory body of the Office. The European Patent Office is fully accountable to its member states in all its activities.

 

For more information please contact:

European Patent Office
Press Department
D-80298 Munich
Phone: +4989/2399-5011
Fax: +4989/2399-2850
press@epo.org  

Brussels Bureau
Av. de Cortenbergh, 60
B-1000 Brussels
Phone: +322/274 15 90
Fax: +322/201 59 28
dsant@epo.org

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